A new edition of festival L.E.V. took place last weekend in Gijon. It has been already eight years celebrating electronic music in Northern Spain.

As Laura Cano explained at this last year, L.E.V. is a project created and designed by the Asturian art group Datatrón 0x3F, that is made up by Cristina de Silva, Nacho de la Vega and Fran Suárez.

Several venues in the city hosted activities of the festival: The theater and church of Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura, LABoral Centro de Arte, Jardín Botánico and the Teatro Jovellanos in the centre of Gijon. Attention was drawn to Asturias, with special programmes at some spaces like Fluido Rosa, an interactive programme on contemporary creation at Radio3.

On the occasion of this new edition, we interview LCC, a couple of Asturian artists who presented their new album at L.E.V.

1. –First of all: Who are LCC?

LCC are two Asturian artists, Ana and Uge, who have been 4 years researching and developing their work around electronic music and audiovisual arts, mainly by means of experimenting.

2. –I would like also to congratulate you on the release of your new album d/evolution, by the end of May. Since your first concerts, that I saw some three years ago, until today... What new thing can we find in your work?

Thanks a lot. The evolution since those first performances until today has been so dramatic that I wouldn’t know where to start. It may be easier to point out what still remains, and this is our taste for subtle melodies and the use of rithmic sequences.

Over these years we have got increasingly involved in sound experimentation, working with sounds that accompany us, as they are a part of our sound bagage trying to play them in a more personal way, making them ours. They have become the language that we feel more comfortable with to express ourselves artistically.

3. –Nature and its relation with human beings, the invasion and parasite attitude of humans, sounds that remind of natural and urban environments...How do your sound pieces show this?

In the case of d/evolution, we have stolen sounds from our natural and urban environment. We have processed them in a way that in some cases we have been able to take their organic aspect away and turn them into synthetic sounds and vice versa. In order to do so, among other things, we have textured them using several effects and manipulations in the structure of surround sounds in order to generate confusion about their origin.

We have tried to intervene in the sounds of this album in the same way that men intervene in their environment, changing it and, in many cases, deforming it until it becomes unrecognisable, making them resemble other things, thus generating a sound illusion.

4. –Surprisingly I find that many artists from Northern Spain reflect upon this dystopian relationship beetween man and nature. Does the Asturian landscape itself, the living context where you work have a special impact?

Probably. Perhaps in the North nature shows its wildest and exuberant side and hits us now and then with its strength, reminding us of its presence and that we really depend on it.

5. –What word would you use to describe your new album in one single word?

Emotional.

6. –This new work, with such critical and philosophical connotations is presented at L.E.V. with a live performance full of nuances, lights and shadows. Where are we with LCC: Music, sound pieces, installations, surrounding sound performances?

Is it necessary to know where we are? Don’t you think this is also a way of conditioning ourselves? May be for specialised critics there is a need to set limits in order to explain a work of art. However, often, the work of art needs to overcome these barriers, dilute them, in order to be able to express the concerns or motivations of the author.

We have developed a flexibility that allows us to travel different roads. Sometimes it is a road that can be walked on several directions, so, probably it’s up to the viewer to place it in the category he prefers.

Specifically this year at L.E.V. it will have a rather musical format, although the context and the participation of Play Mid will result in new nuances.

7. –As for the L.E.V. What would you point out about this year’s edition? Especially for those who could not attend and want to listen to some of the proposals.

Honestly, this years line-up, like in previous years, is excellent, so everything deserves to be pointed out. We personally like Robert Henke and Herman Kolgen very much. As well as the live performances by Aoki Takamasa, Rival Consoles and Douglas Dare. We should also emphasise the venues (Botánico, Church, Theater…) an essential part of L.E.V. where you discover magic moments when you least expect it. So we recommend to see it all!

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